All Hallow's Eve
by Mystical Magician
Summary: Sarah meets someone at the carnival. I know it isn't very good. Please don't hurt me. I'm done! Finished! Finito! Thanks to all who read and reviewed.
1.

All Hallows Eve ****

All Hallows Eve

She had been waiting for this day all month where imagination and magic run wild. Sarah had dressed up as Cassandra for the Halloween Carnival. But now she regretted it, regretted coming. It was too easy to remember the Labyrinth and heartbreak. True she got along a little better with her parents but it felt like she had lost so much more. All because of what she had said. Now, too late, she regretted saying the words. "What's said is said," muttered Sarah bitterly. With a sigh she looked around and got her bearings. She hadn't been paying attention. In front of her stood a fortune telling machine. Sarah had always liked them and couldn't resist putting a quarter in. After a moment she picked up the card. She read it and gasped. On it were the words, "The 13th hour has broken your heart. All Hallows Eve shall mend it."

He never failed to be at the Halloween Carnival. He could tell people who he really was and they'd believe him…in a way. This year something was different. Someone was missing in his life and Jareth knew who. But he also knew he couldn't take Sarah against her will. Jareth didn't know how she felt about him now and wouldn't take the risk of losing her for good. If they were destined for each other they would meet again. And then looking up he saw her and his breath caught in his throat. She was close to realizing her true feelings. It took all of his will power not to be seen by her. "Not yet," something told him. "Wait."

Sarah ran to a deserted corner of the carnival to think about her fortune. *How could a machine know anything? It's got to be a coincidence.* The giant clock's chiming jolted her from her thoughts. "11 o' clock already," she murmured. "I'd better get going." As she turned to leave a hand covered her mouth and she felt a sharp, steel blade at her throat. "Don't move a muscle or you're dead," a gruff voice whispered. "I'll soon have what I want."

Jareth didn't know why he walked away from the main crowd but something seemed to pull him toward a deserted corner of the carnival. He rounded a corner and stood frozen in shock. He was looking at his brother who was holding a dagger against Sarah's throat. "Let her go!" shouted Jareth. "I don't think so," said his brother, Garette. "She's such a nice little hostage. While I have her like this you'll do anything I wish you to." "What are you talking about? I couldn't care less about what you do to this woman," lied Jareth. He could see the hurt in Sarah's eyes followed swiftly by anger and defiance. Inwardly he smiled. Even when her life is in danger she had a lot of spirit. "I don't believe you, brother. Shall we find out?" At that moment there was a loud commotion coming from the fairgrounds. Garette jerked his head towards the sound. While he was distracted Jareth produced a crystal ball and flung it at the knife. Garette's grip on Sarah loosened enough for her to slip away, but not before getting slashed in her back. With a wild cry Garette started battling with Jareth. Neither side seemed to have the advantage. Attack, block, attack, block. Garette all of a sudden dealt Jareth a powerful blow and stood over him gloating. "I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," whispered Garette. Jareth looked at the fire in his brother's eyes and shuddered, sure this was the end. All through the battle Sarah watched, shocked at their ferocity. It almost seemed as if Jareth really did care for her. So when his brother stood over him preparing to kill him her heart stopped and she could take it no longer. Her anger built up inside her and kept building for it had no place to go. It kept building until she could hardly bear it and still it kept coming. At last, when she thought she would collapse, the power wrenched free of her and flew at Garette who thought he could hold her prisoner. She would have laughed in his face if she could. He thought he could hold _her_ when she didn't wish to be contained. How wrong he was. Garette only had time to look up in shock before he was incinerated. Then she felt more tired than she would have thought possible and fainted from exhaustion. Jareth just barely caught her in time so sudden it was. He looked down at his love's face in the moonlight and gently brushed his lips against hers before giving her some well-deserved rest.


	2. Explanations

Sarah groaned ****

Sarah groaned. She ached all over. Slowly she opened her eyes and waited for the world to come back into focus. When it did she got a surprise. A pair of mismatched eyes were staring at her. Sarah sat bolt upright in bed. "Where am I?" she cried out. "Calm down," said Jareth. "You're in my bedroom." "Calm down?!" she shrieked. "Calm down?! I'm in _your _bedroom in the Labyrinth and I've been here for who knows how long?! My parents must be worried sick and you're telling me to calm down?!" "Shhh. You've been here for only a few hours and I took care of explanations with your parents," said Jareth. "You told them where I am?" asked Sarah in surprise. "Not truthfully," he answered. "I've got to get home." She threw back the covers but as soon as she stood up the world spun and her knees buckled. Jareth caught her before she fell and set her back down on her bed. "Don't be silly. You're in no condition to go traipsing off through the Labyrinth with no sense of direction. Working your magic really took a lot out of you." Sarah's eyes flashed. "Who are you calling sil-," she began before his other words sank in. "What do you mean 'working my magic'?" she asked. "I mean the magic you did when my brother was ready to kill me," answered Jareth matching glare for glare. Sarah sighed. "Could you at least send me home then? I'll rest there." "Not until I understand what kind of magic you have, where it came from, and how to prevent it from getting out of control. You have sorceress level powers, Sarah," he replied. "Only if I learn more about your brother," retorted Sarah. "Deal," agreed Jareth. He tossed a crystal broach at Sarah. "Put that on and it will help me somewhat with your magic. While we wait I'll tell you more about my brother." Jareth waited for her to get settled. "To begin with we were never very friendly with each other."

~Flashback~

"What are you doing with my crystal?!" shouted a younger Jareth. "It's not yours!" replied his younger brother. "Is too!" "Is not!" "You'd better watch it or you'll get it!" shouted Jareth. "Oh yeah? You and what army?!" retorted Garette. Jareth used his magic to slap Garette's hand and grabbed the crystal. "Ha!" he said.

~End Flashback~

"We were always fighting. It didn't help when our parents left the castle to me as the eldest. He's never forgiven me and I hadn't heard from him until now. Now let's see that broach." Sarah silently gave it to him. "That was fast," Sarah remarked. "It also burns up energy since I didn't do it the proper way. I was in a hurry," said Jareth. Then he muttered some words and closed his eyes. All of a sudden his eyes flew open. "You'll need training right away. Your magic is of an ancient kind and forms spells when you lose control of your emotions. I haven't been able to discern where they came from. Do you know?" Sarah looked at him in surprise. "I have no idea," she replied. "We've got to start right away but first I need to write an excuse to your parents to tell them why you won't be home for a month or more," he said. Sarah clambered back into bed to get some sleep as he turned to leave. "Oh. Jareth?" He looked back at her. "Thanks," she said as she closed her eyes. Jareth smiled as he quietly closed the door. "You're welcome," he whispered to his love.


	3. Lessons

The next morning Jareth walked into Sarah's room ****

The next morning Jareth walked into Sarah's room. "I've decided to let you go home seeing as I can't think of an excuse to tell your parents why you won't be home for a month," he informed her. "But be ready for night time lessons and please try to keep your emotions under control." "Thank you, said Sarah relieved, "Can I go home now?" "In a moment," he answered. "First I'll show your what you'll be practicing for the next couple of weeks. It'll help keep you calm." Sarah looked at him curiously. "What is it?" she asked. "Meditating," replied Jareth. "Have a seat." She sat down on the rug and Jareth sat behind her. "Now breathe in slowly, hold it, and breathe out. Do it to a pattern. Count or do whatever you need to keep it event. While you're breathing, try not to think of anything. It took Sarah a while. Thoughts kept popping into her head. Then she realized it was almost like what she did before a performance and that thought made it easier. "Good," said Jareth obviously pleased. To Sarah it sounded like his voice came from far away. "Now keep doing what you're doing, but open your eyes. Do you see those shining threads? That's your magic. Right now you have no control over it and whenever you get too emotional it forms itself into a spell. When you control it you'll be able to form it into spells and have it do what you want instead of what it wants. Right now try to untangle your magic and pull it back into your heart, your soul, yourself." Sarah did as she was told. An hour later Jareth called her back to the regular world. "It's time for you to go home." She looked up in surprise. "Already?" He smiled in amusement. "You've been at it for an hour." "That long? But it hardly felt like it. And it hardly looks like I've done anything to my magic. It's just as tangled as it was before!" she cried. "Patience, Sarah. You'll see results in a little while." And with that he transported her home. Over the next few weeks she went to school by day and had lessons at night. Her control over her emotions and magic was beginning to show little by little though there was still lots of work to be done. Her classmates began to notice that her expression got dreamier every day. "Hey Sarah? Get your head out of the clouds and come back to the real world!" called one of the members of the "cool crowd" after school one day on her daily route home. "Shut up," snapped Sarah annoyed. "Oooh. I'm so scared," said the boy. The empty path in the woods was making him cocky. "You should be," said Sarah trying to meditate as she walked to keep herself calm. "Maybe I should just come over there and-." Something inside of Sarah snapped. "Forget it!" she cried stopping her meditation. Her anger combined with her magic through the boy into the tree and stuck him there. He stared at her, shocked. "What did you do? When I got down you'll wish you had never been born!" he shouted struggling to get down. Fortunately nobody was around and in shouting distance. Sarah panicked. "Jareth!" she shrieked and the word echoed in the empty forest.


	4. Basis for Comparison

"Jareth ****

"Jareth!" she shrieked and the word echoed in the empty forest. Just when she thought he wasn't going to show up he appeared in front of her. "What?" he asked annoyed. She gestured toward the tree. "Oh," he said assessing the situation as the boy stared at him. "Let me guess," said Jareth with his back to Sarah. "You got mad." Sarah was fuming and forced herself to calm down, lest she let loose another spell. "Yes," she said tightly. "And I don't know how to undo it." "Let this be a lesson to you. You must learn not to loose control or something worse than this could happen." The boy interrupted him. "Worse? Worse?! What could be worse than throwing me against a tree? When I get down I'm going to kill you, Witch." Witch wasn't exactly what he said, but it was close enough. "Although it occurs to me," began Jareth glaring at the boy, "that your actions might have been justified." Sarah, meanwhile, was using all of her energy to keep from letting loose a more devastating spell. "Of all the," she began through gritted teeth, fully intending to say something that was NOT appropriate. Before she could finish, however, there was a blinding flash of light and the jerk disappeared. "What did you do?" asked Sarah. "I thought he'd like a visit to the Bog of Eternal Stench. After all," he said mockingly, "I couldn't let his big mouth tarnish your reputation." "Some reputation," muttered Sarah bitterly, voicing her hurt at always being left out for the first time. Jareth frowned in sympathy and reached out a hand as if to comfort her, but pulled back at the last instant. Sarah didn't notice because she was trying hard to keep her tears from spilling over. She quickly got back under control. "Well. Thanks for your help," she said in false cheer and turned to leave. "Sarah, wait." She stopped with her back to him. "I'm sure it'll get better," said Jareth, surprising them both with his gentle tone. "What will get better? I'm perfectly happy," stated Sarah hollowly. She knew she wasn't fooling him. "Oh really? I wonder what your basis for comparison is." Sarah turned quickly to face him, overestimated the distance between them, and ran into him. She froze in surprise and for once so did Jareth. "I-I have to go home," Sarah stuttered and ran away from him. _What's wrong with you? _she thought. _Why are you freezing up like this? Don't show him any weakness. _

Jareth transported himself back to his castle and began thinking the very same things. He knew he loved her, but he had never known that he would show it so blatantly. No matter how hard he tried to hide it from her, it always showed. Why? There was just something about that girl. Jareth conjured a crystal and watched Sarah in it. She had just reached her home and had begun to do her homework. He could tell that she was trying to forget what had happened. With a sigh a closed his hand into a fist and the crystal disappeared. Then he conjured the boy from the Bog of Eternal Stench to his house after making him forget about what had happened with Sarah. He would have some explaining to do about the smell and Jareth had intended to watch him try to explain it to his mother. Now he just didn't feel interested. Life just wasn't fair. 

"Oh really? I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

Startled, Jareth looked around. He could have sworn he heard Garette's voice. Then he shook his head. Now he was hearing voices. He really should learn how to control his emotions better. He was letting them slip. Then there was a blinding flash of light and Jareth cursed. _You forgot to look up again!_ He should have known better than to think his brother had been defeated, no matter how powerful the magic was. Gathering his remaining energy he transported himself to somewhere he knew his brother wouldn't go without more investigating. "Curse you!" he heard Garette shout before he transported himself away. 

"Jareth!" gasped Sarah as he appeared on her bed. "What happened?" Without answering he slumped over and fainted. His magic was weaker than it had ever been. 


	5. Discovery

"Jareth!" Sarah cried out in surprise and horror and then clapped her hand to her mouth. She hoped her parents were out or this would be awkward to explain. She listened and didn't hear anything. Good. Now she had to figure out what to do with the Goblin King. It was an effort, but she managed to get him into her bed. Worriedly she felt for his pulse and sighed in relief. It was faint, but unmistakably there. What was she going to do? Jareth was obviously weak with most of his magic gone, but what happened? Angrily she shook her head. Help him now, ask questions later. And boy, was he going to get an ear-full. But what to do? She wasn't a nurse and she didn't know much of anything magical. Well, she could at least make him comfortable, but she didn't want to leave him alone. Sarah could feel herself beginning to panic despite the control she had learned. Then she was struck with an idea. Jareth had said that she worked powerful magic when she let her emotions get out of control. What if she used her panic to her advantage. Experimentally she sent out a tendril of her magic to a fork downstairs and directed it to come to her room. With a little 'pop' it appeared on her desk. Delighted with her discovery she retrieved a small table, some food, a glass of water, and more utensils. She had just finished setting the food on the table when a small groan from Jareth let her know that he was regaining consciousness. "Garette," he muttered. Sarah dismissed that as rambling. "Be quiet and eat," she ordered him. "And then you are going to explain to me what happened." Jareth smirked. "I am, am I?" Yep, he was definitely awake. "Yes you are. Now eat." Jareth decided that he was too hungry to argue with Sarah at the moment and began to eat. When he was finished Sarah ordered the dishes into the sink and the table back to the dining room. Jareth's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "How did you – ," he began before Sarah cut him off. "Nuh-uh. You are explaining first." The Goblin King glared at her but complied. "Garette's not dead, Sarah. He just tried to kill me and I barely got away in time." Sarah was shocked. "But…but, that's impossible isn't it?" she pleaded. He shook his head. "I thought so too. Now, how did you do magic when we hadn't practiced any spells yet?" Sarah grimaced and told him what happened. "Interesting," he replied. "What are we going to do now?" asked Sarah. "Yes. That is the question now, isn't it?" replied Jareth.

Garette stared moodily at the blank stone wall. No matter how much he hated Jareth he was not about to enter a powerful sorceress's home unwanted. "She has too much power, that one," he said out loud into the empty room. "And such wild beauty. I can see why Jareth loves her, but he will not have her. Not if I have anything to do with it."


	6. Healing

Sarah was worried. How was she going to keep Jareth a secret from her parents? And what if Garrette came after her, or worse, her family? And despite the care she was giving him he didn't seem to get any better. She was no nurse and she definitely wasn't going to take him to a real one. God only knew what chaos might occur. All of a sudden her thoughts turned to Hoggle. Out of all her friends from the labyrinth he was the one who was most likely to know what to do.

Not giving herself a chance to chicken out she murmured, "Hoggle, I need you." He appeared almost immediately.

"Er...hello, Sarah," he said.

"I need your help Hoggle. Jareth is hurt and he isn't getting better."

"Jareth?!" he exclaimed. "Why would you want to help him?"

That stopped her for a moment. "Because he saved my life on Halloween and he's been teaching me magic. He's okay despite being arrogant."

"Well, if you say so," he said doubtfully. "Where is he?"

Sarah led the way to her room. Jareth was awake.

"What is that traitor doing here?" asked Jareth in a superior voice as Hoggle cowered.

"Oh, grow up you big bully," snapped Sarah losing her patience. "I asked him to help you, but I don't know why I bothered."

Jareth looked startled and then contrite. "I apologize, Hogwart," said Jareth looking like it took a great amount of effort.

"It's Hoggle, Your Majesty," he muttered.

"Yes, yes," said Jareth airily. "Now do get on with it."

Hoggle examined him and then turned to Sarah. "Give this to him twice a day for a week and he'll be as good as new," said Hoggle, handing her a spindly dark green plant before disappearing.

"Oh good," murmured Sarah. "I was worried.

"You were?" asked Jareth, his expression unreadable. 

"Well, yeah," mumbled Sarah awkwardly as she walked out of the room.


	7. Astral Projection

****

Garette paced back and forth across the stone floor of the castle. Should he attack now while Jareth was weak and risk Sarah's powers? Or should he wait until Jareth left her house, healthy and more alert. He looked in the crystal ball and saw Jareth lying weakly on Sarah's bed. Oh, how he loved seeing his brother weak and helpless. That decided him. This would be the battle to end all battles. He would not back down. Not again, not ever. And Sarah would be his. 

* ~ *

Sarah shuddered on the couch. Something was happening. Something evil had been decided. Her heightened sense of powers had detected it. But she could not figure out what it was. 

She looked at the clock. It read 12:00. Her parents had gone to bed hours ago. Decidedly unsettled Sarah began meditating. It was something she had begun to do to calm herself. A habit. To her surprise she saw no tangled threads of magic. They were all pulled into her magic core, unknotted and whole. Sarah wondered what she could do now. Now that her powers were under control, how powerful was she?

Sarah experimented and tried to see if she could see what was happening upstairs without actually going up there physically. Within a breath her astral body left her physical body.

__

I read about astral projection, she thought. _Somewhere_. _This is _so _cool!_

She was so excited that she almost forgot the point of the exercise. She checked each room one by one. Everyone was sleeping peacefully. Feeling the need for some adventure she burst through the roof and looked around at the dark neighborhood. 

__

The stars are beautiful tonight, she thought. She turned to leave when something magical slammed down on her almost like a cage. Sarah screamed, but no one could hear. Then her vision slowly faded away and she lost consciousness. There were no clues to where she had been taken. And her physical body lay in a coma-like trance.


	8. Beginning of the End

Sarah flew to each corner of the spiritual cage, but she couldn't get out. No matter how hard she tried, nothing worked and her magic was sapped. She huddled despairingly in the middle of the cage.

"Hello, love," hissed a voice. 

She looked up with a start and Garrette's face floated in front of her. Hate burned in her eyes.

"Don't call me that," she said and spat in his face, not knowing or caring how she was able to do that in her astral body.

"Feisty, eh?" he asked softly. 

Suddenly she burned, pain in every limb. She writhed on the ground until he saw fit to let her go.

"Don't do that again," he commanded.

She growled at him, but decided to keep silent.

"Good."

~*~

Jareth was awoken quite suddenly with a start as one might well do when screaming parents who have no idea he even existed happened to find him in their daughters room and not their daughter. 

"What are you doing here?!" roared Sarah's father. "And what have you done with our daughter?"

Jareth stood up stiffly, still sore from his attack earlier. He bowed. "My name is Jareth and I am King of the Goblins. I trust Sarah's told you about me?"

Sarah's stepmother hmphed. "Her and her fairy stories. And you would do well not to lead her on, _and _to tell us what you did to her."

"Why, I have done nothing to Sarah except teach her to control her magic. And take her little brother Toby," he added as an afterthought, "at her behest."

Sarah's father moved toward him threateningly. "You had better tell us where Sarah is right now, or we'll call the police."

Jareth sighed. Such people who adamently refused magic would never see the truth. _I wonder how they could be the parents of Sarah. She has never doubted magic, which gives her a part of her much desired beauty, and her naivete adds a certain innocence that anyone with sense would long to protect._

He shook these thoughts out of his head as a crystal ball appeared in his hand. He weaved it through the air until it had their full attention. 

"Since you will not see the truth and refuse to try you will be denied the privilage of knowing. Forget your meeting with me and be on your way downstairs," said in such a voice that, along with the crystal, they had to obey. As if sleep walking they walked out the door and downstairs to the kitchen where Jareth could hear the drone of voices.

Exhausted, he sat back in bed. He must have been more tired than he had thought to become drained so quickly.

His thoughts were disturbed when he heard the panicked stepmother's voice.

"Sarah? Sarah?! Sarah answer me! What's happened to you? Sarah!"

He searched for her mind to talk to her telepathically, but he couldn't find her. He tried looking for her aura, but it was very faint. Then Jareth tossed a crystal down to where the aura was and looked deep into the other one, clearing his mind. He saw her sitting there, staring, not moving a muscle except to breath. He examined deeper, magickally. What Jareth saw caused him to break the connection, but it didn't matter. He knew what was wrong. Her soul, her consciousness, was gone.

He slipped from his body also, with the skill born of practice and followed the shimmering silver cord that bound her astral body to her physical. He followed it with a thought, going faster than the speed of light. Soon he ended up at his own castle. He flitted carefully through the castle until he came to the balcony of his throne room. Jareth was horrified to see Garette lounging on his throne, but he was even more so to see the shimmering form of Sarah in a black cage, crumpled on the floor with Garette watching and laughing with lust visible in his eyes.

Jareth burned with rage as he quickly went back to his body. He shook his head slightly to clear it, and then strode down to where Sarah was. Her parents were so upset that they didn't hear him. Quietly, he put them to sleep and then created a shield around the three of them to protect their bodies. That done, he became an owl and flew to his palace. 

_It's time to end this once and for all.___


	9. Happily Ever After

            When Jareth arrived at the castle in owl form, he flew straight to the throne room and swiped at his brother. 

            Garette jerked back, surprised, but then smiled as Jareth landed and transformed back to his human body.

            "I've been waiting for you," said Garette, standing almost lazily. 

            "Let her go," hissed Jareth, fire burning in his eyes.

            He pretended to think a moment. "No. No I don't think I will. But I will do this!" He swung his arms around and released a ball of fire at Jareth. 

            Jareth heard a cry as he was flung back against the wall. Wincing, he used the wall as support to help himself to his feet, barely registering the fact that he had been badly burned. Glancing up, he saw Sarah's astral body leaning against the wall of her prison. He could hear her cry his name faintly. And then Garette came into view, smirking and waiting for Jareth to make he next move, knowing that he had weakened him to make him lose power. Now Jareth was less than equal to his brother's power. But he would not give up. For Sarah's sake and his own pride, he would not give up.

            With a word and a quick gesture he lit up the room. With a small smile he quickly moved in on Garette, who had been temporarily blinded by the light. _Yes, the castle still obeyed him_, he thought as he attacked Garette with a blast of ice.

            Garette turned on him with a snarl, as his cuts bled shallowly.

            "First blood," whispered Jareth. He quickly put up a shield as Garette attacked him with sharp shards of glass and metal. As he strained under the weight of keeping up the shield that drained his power he thought, _So. This is how it will end._

            "You're resistance is futile," said Garette almost lazily throwing knife after knife at Jareth. "You can't keep that up forever and defense never wins anything."

            He was right. Jareth knew he was right. But he didn't have the power to attack and defend so he did the smart thing. Or what he hoped was the smart thing. Jareth let go of the shield and dodged while throwing his crystal ball at Garette. It struck and trapped him in a sphere, but Garette just laughed and popped it like a bubble. 

            "Is that the best you can do?" demanded Garette.

            And it was. They both knew it. Jareth needed power, but had no source. The goblins had run like the cowards they were, not that they would have been much help anyway. And the other denizens of the labyrinth lived far from the castle.

            **Take this,** he heard Sarah say telepathically. **It should be enough to stop him.**

            Jareth examined the energy and did a double take while dodging daggers and ice. **No. It's your life force. You'll die if I use it.**

**            I'll die anyway if you don't,** said Sarah sadly. 

            Jareth realized that she was right, but he still couldn't take it.

**            Oh, just use it you egotistical buffoon. Or _he'll _win.**

            **I suppose I have no choice then.**

**            No**, retorted Sarah, **you don't.**

            So he took her gift and felt the power coursing through his veins. He fairly glowed as he spoke to the cowering Garette in a voice the sounded through the labyrinth, and even to those on earth who could use magic.

            "You have kidnapped Sarah, a sorceress, trapped her, attempted to murder me, the eldest son and ruler of the labyrinth. You have challenged me on unfair grounds and usurped my throne. These are crimes punishable by death. But unfortunately you are kin and I feel the blood ties to you, no matter how I try to deny it. For that I will not kill you, but strip you of your magic and send you throughout the land as a beggar, to be shunned by all. My word here is law and it is done."

            With a cry, energy converged on Garette and then left him stripped of his powers. He was then teleported to the labyrinth. 

            Next he teleported Sarah's body to the throne room and freed her astral body. But instead of returning to her mortal body, she began to disappear.

            **Good bye Jareth,** she whispered.

            "No! Sarah come back!" cried Jareth throwing a loop of his magic at her to keep her here. 

            **Stop you idiot! Let me go or you'll go with me!**

"I don't care. Don't you get it yet? I love you! Oops," he murmured. "I didn't mean to say that."

            **You do?** asked Sarah astonished. **I though it was just...**

"Just what?" asked Jareth, quickly losing strength as he kept Sarah anchored in his world.

            She floated over to her body. **Just me,** she murmured as she returned to her body.

            Jareth was startled at her words and then frantic as her body became an ashen gray. He felt for a pulse and found it, weak, but still there. Exhausted, Jareth carried her into his bedroom and layed her carefully on his bed. Next he sent for Hoggle.

            When Hoggle arrived he took one look at Sarah and went to work healing her.

            "That's the best I could do yer Majesty. Sarah's out of danger now. 

            Thank you Hoggle," he said holding his head in his hands.

            "Er, if I can ask a favor," mumbled Hoggle.

            "What is it?"

            "Well, methinks Sarah's friends would like to see the little miss and she might like to see 'em," mumbled Hoggle.

            "Go ahead," said Jareth tiredly. "Put them in any of the spare rooms."

            Hoggle looked at him studiously. "I'm sure the little miss'll be all right," he said matter-of-factly as he left.

            Jareth stayed by her bed for a whole week, only eating when Hoggle forced him to, and sleeping when he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

            On the seventh day he had just drifted off to sleep when he heard a groan. His eyes shot open and he appeared quickly at her side.

            Sarah's eyes fluttered open. Jareth?" she murmured weakly. 

            "Sarah! Are you okay?"

            "I'm fine," she reassured him attempting to sit up. "Ow."

            "What is it?" asked Jareth frantically leaning towards her.

            "I have the biggest headache ever."

            "I was worried about you," Jareth said awkwardly, unused to showing his true feelings.

            Sarah looked at him for a long moment and noticed how close they were. She leaned closer and their lips met. 

            Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus watched unnoticed from the doorway. 

            "Well, someone's finally outdone the king," said Hoggle.

            "Good thing too," commented Sir Didymus. "He was getting so depressed, eh, Sir Ludo?"

            "Jareth…friend," replied Ludo.

Wahoooo! I'm done! Finally! I think this fic has been going on longer than any other one I've written. Thanks to all readers and reviewers!

-Mystical Magician


End file.
